Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and the top-ranked golfers in the world are in Charlotte this week, about to tee off for the Truist Championship with a purse of $20 million on the line. And 175 miles away, Brooks Koepka is in Myrtle Beach, an opposite-field event, playing for a purse just one fifth that size.
Don’t feel too bad for the guys at the Myrtle Beach Classic, where a win is still worth 300 FedExCup points and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour. But it is worth pointing out Koepka actually has a tee time this week, a feat that hasn’t been a guarantee lately. The Myrtle Beach Classic will be his first individual stroke-play event since the Masters (he also played the Zurich Classic) — although not for lack of trying.
At Harbour Town for the RBC Heritage, Koepka waited to get in as an alternate but never had his name called. The same happened last week at the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral, but again, no dice.
“When you sit around on Wednesday and Thursday and you’re practicing, you’re watching everybody else go play, it’s not that much fun,” Koepka said Wednesday from Dunes Golf and Beach Club in South Carolina. “I’m just itching to play. I don’t care where I’m playing as long as I’ve got a chance to tee it up out here; I’m extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity.”
‘Tis life for Koepka, who returned to the PGA Tour this year via the Returning Member Program after 3 1/2 years at LIV Golf. His World Ranking suffered while at LIV — the league didn’t receive points until this season — and per his agreement is not allowed to accept sponsor invites into Signature Events. He instead has to rely on playing well and improving his ranking to get in.
“Listen, the way I look at it is I’m itching to get in, but I’m accepting of where I’m at, and I understand that there’s prices to pay for coming back, and I’m willing to accept those and whatever I have to do,” Koepka said. “I knew this year was going to be challenging to even get in [Signature Events]. I kind of thought maybe by around U.S. Open, but to know that I’m kind of knocking on the door already is a good thing. Just the answer to everything is play better, and you’re in.”
Koepka has played well this year. He’s cut both his FedEx Cup ranking (63rd) and World Ranking (127th) in half in four months. He’s finished top 20 four times and had strong showings at the Players Championship (T13) and Masters (T12).
He’s 36th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and third in Approach, which has helped make up for a struggling putter (141st).
“I feel like I’ve played better than my results,” Koepka said. “I knew the first couple of weeks were going to be an adjustment. Then there’s an adjustment to the way the golf courses are set up too. So having to understand that and kind of go through and figure some things out, it’s just different. Then coming back, first two weeks were a little bit more nervousness than anything. Then it’s just a matter of getting comfortable with the golf courses, seeing how firm things are, the yardages they’re playing. It’s a little different. There is a little bit of adjustment there.”
Up the coast at Trump National D.C., LIV Golf members are talking about the uncertain future of their league and their future as players. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton said Tuesday they still have several years left on their contracts. Bryson DeChambeau said he hasn’t ruled out YouTube golf. Koepka, meanwhile, has already left the league and knows what his future holds.
On Wednesday, he said the word “opportunity” four times. He’s hoping to make the most of them, and he’s got more coming up too. After this week, he heads to Pennsylvania for the PGA Championship, a tournament he’s won three times. Then it’s off to Texas for the CJ Cup.
“Coming back, I’ve said it before or earlier on in the year, I want to get back to being the best player that I can be and try to give myself the opportunities to see those dreams come true,” Koepka said. “Whether they come true or not, who knows? But I’m going to give it my all for at least the next 10 years.”